


Adding To The Arsenal

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, discussing magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gretel was a white witch, but that didn't mean she knew what was going on. Not that Hansel did, either, but a familiar voice would help show him what to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adding To The Arsenal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cat_77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_77/gifts).



They had always thought witches were evil, that corruption led to physical deformities as the dark magic twisted them inside and out. Meeting Mina had changed that perception, and the concept of the white witch was a new one. It was strange, to think of some witches as good and not evil, that they would never harm a living soul for their own gain, let alone their lives.

It was even stranger to think of their mother as a witch.

Hansel had blocked his memories of his childhood for so long, it was almost second nature. He had never asked how much of it Gretel remembered. All they had was each other, and their focus had always been on survival. Then, when the hunting worked out well, they had started to focus on better ways to hunt witches. They had a reputation, the two of them, and it had to be kept up. One witch or a hundred, all of them had to die if they preyed on the innocent. Their vow had been made a long time ago, and they would keep it, no matter what.

Gretel was a white witch, however. She knew nothing of that kind of magic. Mina hadn't gotten around to teaching her how to do the blessings she did, or what herbs would be helpful. Gretel had been good with healing herbs out of necessity, but magic was different. Different was new and frightening, and Gretel reacted to frightening the same predictable way.

Anger.

Hansel sighed a little, thinking of his sister's inevitable outburst when it didn't work out the way that she planned. If Mina had been able to give her a few pointers or a spell book of some kind, it might have at least shown her what to do. She'd glower less and Hansel wouldn't have to fear for Ben and Edward's safety.

Honestly, he missed her, too. It had been nice to talk to someone besides Gretel without making a complete ass of himself, and she had liked him, maybe even loved him. That was a good emotion, nothing like the fear and helpless rage that witches usually inspired. For too long, all he had ever associated with his past was pain. Sighing again, Hansel felt a little silly for saying out loud "I miss you, Mina," but he was alone in the camp. Ben and Gretel had gone to the nearest town for supplies and Edward had gone into the woods to hunt for dinner. He had been left behind to nurse his broken arm.

"I miss you, too."

Startled, Hansel whirled around and looked for the stranger in the camp. He heard Mina's voice, clear as day, but that was impossible. No stranger could be seen anywhere. Was he finally going insane? Or succumbing to the sugar sickness despite his injections?

"I've been kept away," Mina's voice continued. "By natural law, I'm not supposed to interfere. I had to fight my way back to you."

"I don't understand," Hansel whispered, frantically looking around for the source of Mina's voice. If Gretel was playing some kind of elaborate trick…

He thought he could see a faint shimmer in the distance, the way air looked over a fire. The shimmer was vaguely humanoid in shape, and it was approaching him. "Mina?"

"You called me," the shimmer said. _Mina._ "So I came. We're bound, you and I, and calling me allowed me to come to you."

"I miss you." Hansel sighed again, sitting down heavily on his log seat. "I knew you for too short a time, but I still miss you."

The shimmering air brushed against his forehead in a familiar gesture. "I put a protection on you—"

"I broke my arm," he interrupted, gesturing toward it.

"—so you wouldn't die. Your injuries would have been much worse otherwise. There is much evil in the world, and pledging to get rid of it is dangerous."

"Someone has to do it."

"If you want me around, I'll try to help however I can."

Hansel though for a moment. "Can you teach Gretel how to use her magic?"

Mina sighed, the shimmering air surrounding him as if she was hugging him. "Not directly, but through you, I can."

Oh, this was going to be _interesting._

***

Of course, Gretel though he was hallucinating or feverish. Ben kept his mouth shut, but Edward thought it was possible. "Even white witches are still witches," he'd said.

Gretel couldn't see the shimmering air or hear Mina's voice. Neither could Ben or Edward. But Mina stirred up the fire and made it burn brighter, and she could push at objects with considerable effort. They all believed _something_ was there with them. Having it be Mina was at least a kinder possibility than a curse.

They wouldn't be able to hunt easily with Hansel's broken arm anyway, so they laboriously tried to work on Gretel's inherent abilities. She swore up a storm and threw things when her unstable spells backfired, then had to do target practice to calm down. Target practice had always come easily to her, even as a child, but patience was never one of her virtues.

"Are there any easier things to start out with?" Hansel asked Mina _sotto voce._

"The blessing spell isn't that difficult, and it's important for your work," Mina protested.

"Yes, but she's upset and angry. I'm sure it's counterproductive. Gretel needs _something_ to work."

"Cleansing, perhaps? It's useful for healing wounds."

Hansel nodded. "Better."

Gretel, of course, didn't want to be put off from the blessing spell, even if it had already failed twenty or thirty times. "I can do this! I won't quit on an easy spell like this. It's not our way."

"I'm thinking this can be a break. Like when you learned hand to hand in between the bow and guns," Hansel pointed out.

Pursing her lips, Gretel tried to gauge his expression to see if he was making fun of her. He wasn't, so she visibly relaxed after a moment. "Okay, fine. Let's try the stupid spell."

Edward conveniently had some scrapes and bruises from his hunt, so he eagerly volunteered to be the subject. He still worshiped Gretel and was overprotective of her as much as she would allow him to be. Grinning at her, he sat obediently by her side and waited for her to begin the incantation while holding his wound.

Despite practicing a few times before laying her palm over Edward's scrapes, Gretel stumbled over several of the key words. Instead of knitting the wound back together, his skin split apart and blood poured out. Howling in dismay, Gretel tried to push the ends of skin back together as she sobbed an apology. Edward wouldn't hear of it, and merely grunted "Try again."

Knowing what failure would mean, Gretel gulped and tried again. This time, she slowed down to mimic Hansel's words directly. He knew that if it had been _his_ wound, she would have smacked him, called him a big baby and had him walk it off, as she had with his broken arm. She had the herb lore, but dainty bedside manner she didn't. Edward was a completely different story, however. He idolized her and she cared deeply for him. If there was any way to alleviate his pain, she would do it.

This time out, the spell worked the way it was supposed to. Edward's skin flared bright white beneath her hand, the warm glow suffusing through all of the wounded skin. Hansel watched as it knit back together as good as new, as if he had never been wounded.

"Hey! Think you could fix my arm?" Hansel asked.

Gretel was beaming, proud of her accomplishment, and she leaned forward to hug Edward tightly. "Maybe."

"Oh, come on. I'm useless in a fight like this."

"I can help!" Ben piped up. Of course he would, fanboy that he was.

But Gretel grinned at him and grasped the broken arm with both of her hands. "Hopefully, I don't reduce your bones to a pile of dust."

Hansel snorted. "Then I'd _really_ be useless in a fight."

She rolled her eyes but gave the spell another try, making sure she said the incantation slowly and precisely. It did work, and Hansel had to grunt and suppress a cry of pain as he felt the bone knit back together. Ten minutes later, the pain was a dull ache again, but he could move his fingers around and even push against the rock he was sitting on.

"I think you did it," he told Gretel with a smile. Mina seemed to nod enthusiastically, reaching out to ruffle Gretel's hair fondly. It didn't quite work, but Mina was too pleased to notice.

"Rest up, then the blessing spell should be much easier to do," Mina said, practically dancing around Gretel. As Hansel started to relay the words, her dancing stirred the fallen leaves, making them flutter. Ben saw it and smiled faintly at the evidence of ghosts. "We'll make a witch of her yet," Mina laughed.

"That is so wrong," Hansel muttered, massaging his arm a bit. But then, their mother was a white witch, and Gretel clearly had the same gift. Maybe he was bonded to Mina because of that same heritage.

Mina's presence enveloped him, and Hansel breathed a little easier. "As long as you need me, I'll be here."

Apparently, they both had special abilities now. It would take some getting used to, but they'd get through it. They'd cope and adapt, making it work for them. Somehow, they always did. If there was one thing they knew how to do, it was survive.

They were a team, and this was just a new weapon in their arsenal. Hansel for one was looking forward to the hunt.

The End


End file.
